Book Summary (Goodreads):Romulus White has tried for years to hire illustrator Stella West for his renowned scientific magazine. She is the missing piece he needs to propel his magazine to the forefront of the industry.
But Stella abruptly quit the art world and moved to Boston with a single purpose: to solve the mysterious death of her beloved sister. Romulus, a man with connections to high society and every important power circle in the city, could be her most valuable ally.
Sparks fly the instant Stella and Romulus join forces, and Romulus soon realizes the strong-willed and charismatic Stella could disrupt his hard-won independence. Can they continue to help each other when their efforts draw the wrong kind of attention from the powers-that-be and put all they've worked for at risk?
My thoughts....First of all...love the names Elizabeth Camden chose for her characters! They definitely create accurate images of their physical appearance and personalities. Romulus is strong, masculine, and a man who is very confident in the way he interacts with others. He has an image that he projects in the way that he takes charge of situations and has an impeccable sense of style. Beneath that shiny exterior, though, is a man who has his vulnerabilities. At the slightest crack in that exterior, his insecurities begin to take over. Stella is beautiful, talented, and also has a sense of fashion that is ahead of her time. In the past she has been untouchable to Romulus, who has been trying to convince her to come work for him as an illustrator for his magazine, Science World. The Stella who has moved to Boston, however, is a woman on a mission to solve her sister's mysterious death.
One of my favorite things about Elizabeth Camden's novels is that she addresses some point or event in history that had a huge impact on the culture but may not necessarily stand out to us today. For example, in From This Moment, the novel explores the construction of the first subway lines and how that impacted American culture. She also includes the aspects of a scientific magazine, how it's produced, and how it impacted the area of science and discovery. All of that was woven through the story without it seeming like a history textbook; true events intermingled with fictional characters. This story was also more of a murder-mystery than a romantic fiction for me. While there were romantic elements, the mystery involving Stella's sister had the stronger story line, in my opinion. Here are some of my favorite quotes:
"She'd learned long ago that courage was not the absence of fear, but the willingness to confront it."
"Happiness was not an abundance of riches or amusements, it was evenings such as these, when people were engaged in a worthy pursuit and surrounded by kindred spirits."
"Do you love God only when he is good to you?" (A challenge to Stella)
"Beneath the careless insults, the forgotten anniversaries, and socks thrown on her clean floor, she had found a man. And she loved him desperately. This was love. This was marriage, in all its shining, imperfect glory." (this isn't a spoiler ; ))
**I was given a free copy of this novel in exchange for an unbiased review, which I gave.**
No comments:
Post a Comment